Tuesday, March 06, 2007

the chosen one

i'm just a star wars buff. no, not fanatical enough to the extent of accumulating every known mechandise or paraphernalia related to the sci-fi series. just interested enough to collect the dvds of all 6 episodes & the occasional freebies that came with fast-food promotions.

just like shakespeare, some scenes are significant, while others are largely forgettable. take, for example, the climactic fight sequence between obi-wan & anakin, amidst erupting volcanoes & flowing lava, in episode 3 - the revenge of the sith :



obi-wan : you were the chosen one. it was said that you would destroy them (the evil sith lords), not join them. you were to bring balance to the Force, not leave them in darkness.

anakin : i hate you!!

obi-wan : you were my brother, anakin. i loved you.

how often have we made choices, only to discover to our regret & dismay, sometimes alarm & horror, that they were the wrong ones. selection of careers, life partners, business partners, political leaders, & even cars & houses, have at one time or other, reflected our shortcoming in making the right choices.

in our weekly care-group meeting last week, we briefly discussed israel as God's chosen nation, among whom a saviour - no, The Saviour - shall arise, bringing with him & through him, a message of hope & the promise of salvation to the world. but did they rejoice at this high calling? no, they turned their backs, they rebelled & they disobeyed. not only the ordinary citizens, but even iconic figures like moses, david & solomon were all guilty of such trangressions.

doesn't fiction often imitate life? in the movie, anakin is the jedi-turned-darth vader. even as he is mortally wounded by the flames from the burning lava, he is decidedly more consumed with hatred & anger. he was the chosen one to bring peace & justice to the republic, but gave up the jedi belief & gave in to the dark side.

fortunately, for israel, therein the similarity ends, for God stood by His steadfast commitment to His chosen people, declaring, "I will not forsake you." & true to His words, despite their wicked & errant ways, The Saviour descended from the lineage of david. the apostle peter reiterated this fervent assurance in his letter:

"but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."
1 pet 2:9


**this post is inspired by
Dr Alex Tang**

**picture courtesy from the
star wars website**

6 comments:

just me said...

Good reminder "that you may declare the praises of HIM" in good times and bad ...allowing Him to work through us ...for His glory

doc said...

just me,

yes, we ought to declare praises of Him, both in our words & actions.

Las montaƱas said...

Do you know where the name Anakin came from? I suspect it came from Anakim in the OT (Genesis)

doc said...

las,

that's a possiblilty, considering that anakin was portrayed as a tall strapping warrior, a physical characteristic of the descendents of Anak.

thks for raising that point.

Bengbeng said...

when I was younger Star Wars kindled my imaginations....i imagined myself traveling between worlds..nowadays it is to see the special effects..somewhere along the way, i lost the innocence and the fun

doc said...

beng,

i'm sure star wars had that effect on many a young impressionable mind. & the CGI also improved from episode to episode - remember how yoda was just a muppet in episode V, & by episode III, he could do summersaults in fight scenes!!

did you really lose that innocence, or is it just lying dormant inside you, waiting to burst out at the next sci-fi movie??